Power of Prayer and Fasting : A Personal Testimony

Do you need to hear a real-life testimony about how effective the power of prayer and fasting really is? I’ll encourage you by sharing my personal testimony about how God provided and healed me after an 11-day water only fast. It’s a great testimony that’ll show you God’s power, so let’s explore more about the power of prayer and fasting.

In the fall of 2021, one of the worst days of my life occurred. I received news that my father had just passed away. We were close and he wasn’t just my parent…he was also my friend.

What made his death even worst was the slow buildup of sudden losses that led up to it. Some time prior to his passing I had a sudden car problem that I would later find out was engine related and required me to buy a new engine that cost over $9,000… Money that I didn’t have.

Also, I had just lost my job and was in the midst of figuring out what I was going to do for work. So, in less than a month I lost: my job, car, and then my father. As you can imagine, I was really messed up!

I had some really serious problems that I couldn’t get myself out of. And, I had no one to turn to for help, so I took my problems to the only one who could help: God.

In this post, you are going to learn about the breakthroughs that I received by the power of prayer and fasting through my personal experience on an 11 day fast.

After reading this post, you’ll be reminded that all things that are impossible with men, are possible with God. And that God is no respect of a person. Because if He can open closed doors and release breakthroughs for me, then He can do the same for you!

This post is all about power of prayer and fasting.

Power of Prayer and Fasting

Realizing I Needed Prayer and Fasting

So, I was a few weeks into grieving and also dealing with job loss and car loss. Not to mention several family members made the experience much more unpleasant than it already was, and I was an emotional wreck. It felt like I had lost my mind, all my strength, and my resilience.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a thinker, but during that time, I couldn’t think clearly. It’s like my mind stopped working. I spent a lot of time crying, spaced out, and empty minded. I pride myself on being resilient and being able to bounce back and recover from hard times. However, this was the first time in my life that I began to doubt that I could overcome my problems.

When I came to my senses and realized that only God could heal and provide for me in my time of need, I committed myself to God on an 11 day fast for emotional healing and restoration. During the fast I spent a lot of time in prayer and listening to helpful sermons about an array of things on: death, fasting, healing, breakthrough, spiritual warfare, etc. All of which built me up and helped me become stronger each day.

Miracles through fasting and prayer

Grieving made me become very forgetful, but… I didn’t forget that I was still awaiting a response from three organizations who could help me pay my bills (rent, electric, and utilities) for the next three months and get another car. So, what did I do?

I prayed every day, several times to get approved by these organizations before the 11 day fast was over.

I had been waiting a little over a month to get rental and utility assistance and each time I checked for an update online it just said “pending.” Mind you, they never contacted me, so I didn’t know if I would be approved or not. All I could do was wait and continue to pray.

Also…

It had been over four months since I was denied a grant worth thousands of dollars, but I went on to appeal it. So I was waiting for the appeal denial or approval as well. During those four months I hadn’t heard a single word from the organization. I had reached out via email several times, to no avail; they never responded to me. BUT…that all changed on the fifth day of the fast.

I woke up that day and prayed earnestly about an hour about the matter. Afterwards I checked my email around 10am that morning, and I received an email from the rental assistance organization. I quickly opened it and saw that I was approved for 100% rental assistance that would automatically renew after three months if I still needed help. Immediately I praised God for answering my prayer; I was so happy and relieved because I really needed it.

But it gets better…

That afternoon I checked my email again and finally got a response from the grant organization telling me that they needed more documentation to approve my grant. So, I quickly emailed them everything they needed, and I didn’t expect to hear back from them for weeks because I had already waited four months just to get a response.

Then…

I received a call a few hours after I sent the documents in. A man from the organization called to tell me that I was approved for the grant! He also said I had to sign some documents, then I would have the money deposited into my bank account within the next few days.

He went on to say that he couldn’t understand why I was denied the first time, because I met all the requirements to get the grant. Hmph…

When we finished talking, I cried, thanked, and praised God. I could not believe God worked so swiftly and answered a second prayer on the same day!

Then something else amazing happened…

I checked my email again that afternoon, and I got a response from the electric/utility assistance organization. They wanted to schedule a phone appointment with me to verify my application. I scheduled the appointment and was later approved for three months of utility assistance.

God is so good.

As each day of the fast passed, I felt myself getting stronger and stronger emotionally. The constant praying and listening to sermons helped change my perspective on healing and death.

I became at peace, and I was finally able to be present in my environment and smile again. It had been several weeks since I had last smiled. So, not only did I become at peace and happy, but I was also able to finally think clearly again. None of that would have been possible without the help of God through prayer and fasting.

What is the power of combining prayer and fasting?

Fasting can and will open doors that seemed nearly impossible to open no matter how many times you’ve prayed about the same matter. I know this from sheer experience alone. I’m a witness that it has the ability to opens doors that were previously shut.

I hope that sharing my experience with prayer and fasting inspires you to rely on God through prayer and fasting in your time of need. He helped me when I was in great distress and in the matter of 11 days, He intervened and changed my circumstances around for the better.

These are the blessings that I received from the fast:

Emotional healing
Mental renewal
I also felt much better physically. My body didn’t feel weak and exhausted like it did before the fast.
I could finally think clearly again, and I was no longer crying uncontrollably every day.
I was approved by three organizations that provided money and assistance for my needs.
On the last day of the fast, the grant money was disbursed to my bank account.
On the 8th day I finally felt genuinely happy again.

God is so good, and I can testify that He can and will make a way when all the odds are against you.

What are common mistakes during a fast?

Not connecting with God through prayer, praise, and reading the Bible.
To fast is to abstain from food, however just because you go without eating—during a fast—doesn’t mean that you can go without praying. Because that’s not fasting that’s more like dieting. Fasting isn’t a diet, which allows you to go without food and no prayer. And it doesn’t mean that you can neglect God and still think that you’re fasting. That’s certainly not type of fast that pleases God. In order to fast correctly you must go without food and stay vigilant in communicating with God via prayer.
Allowing and engaging in secular/worldly activities/conversations.
To allow that into your space as you fast, will do nothing but be a distraction to you. Instead of focusing on God and renewing your mind, those conversations and activities will deter you from Him. Because they’ll take up mental and emotional space that should be designated to God only. If you allow that in, then you’ll start to think about it and give it time and energy that you shouldn’t give to it. Things like that can always wait until after you’ve finished fasting. The time that you have deeply connecting with God, is especially precious and special during a fast, because it’s rare that we get to experience that type of intimacy with Him.
Giving up too soon and breaking the fast before the date you originally committed to.
Fasting requires commitment, and that commitment is important. When you choose to fast, you’re committing yourself to God for a certain amount of time. Essentially, it’s a time that you agreed to submit yourself to God. And we know that God takes commitment very seriously, so treat your commitment to fast for a certain amount of time, just as God treats His commitments: seriously.

In the next section of this article, I’ll give you a few helpful scriptures.

Fasting and Prayer Scriptures

Matthew 17:21,

“However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Isaiah 58:6-9,

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe him and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here I am.”

Luke 12:29,

“And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.”

Proverbs 7:15,

“Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.”

Thanks for reading this post about power of prayer and fasting. Hopefully, it helped you. Your comments are greatly appreciated!

This post was all about power of prayer and fasting.

This post was written by MelisaDanielle, an avid lover of Jesus

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Power of Prayer and Fasting : A Personal Testimony